Seekers
by Stellar StarElven
Summary: Story thread of a Dra'Keshi/Maran adventure
1. Seekers 1

Written in cooperation with Anatol Rathbauer.

*****

Fire. Fire in the air, coming from the consoles, burning his hair and  
blinding his sight. He forced down a cough in his throat and tumbled forward  
towards the seat of the Commander. As he turned it around, he saw the corpse  
of Loin Gab, the Commander. All seemed like in a dream to him; only five  
minutes ago, everything had been fine. Now his world was, quite literally,  
in flames. A glowing-hot metal shard sliced the floor open in front of him  
and he jumped back.  
"Navigation out, engines down, communications down, weapons off-line,  
life-support down, reactor regressing," he heard a crewman report. Nima Van,  
the next one in the row of command after the Captain, shouted: "Get us  
life-support back and switch to bio-drives, the rest's secondary." Then she  
spotted him, took a chemical fire extinguisher from the wall and pushed it  
into his chest. "End those fires!"  
He did as ordered, but he still was like in trance. He was a High Rank  
Scientist, not fit to cope with catastrophes like this one. They had been  
underway to the Protectorate of Avalon when they had hit the anomaly. They  
didn't know what it was, but it had damaged the little craft beyond repair,  
so much was clear. He put out the fires on the bridge, and the full extent  
of the disaster became obvious. The bridge was destroyed, there was no other  
word for it. Most of the Maran were dead, the rest wounded, like him and the  
crewman at the comm, and only Nima Van looked almost unharmed, apart from  
the dirt on her face and robe. She was a competent woman in her middle ages,  
and he was quite sure she would manage to get them out of this as good as  
possible. If there was a way to get out. He was staring at her, and she  
seemed to sense his gaze rest upon her, for she turned around and laid her  
right hand on his shoulder, pushing him gently towards the door. "Go now,  
you can do nothing here! Try to find the others!"  
His eyes grew wide at the thought of going into the shattered ship, where  
the dead bodies of his friends and comrades would be lying. "No, I will not  
go away from here."  
"Please, you are of no use here. Go!"  
"No, I'm staying. What if a new fire breaks out? No one would have the time  
to extinguish it..."  
"GO," Van shouted, then adding, slightly more peaceful, "please!"  
"I... I can't... I won't... I mean if there are..." The woman sighed and  
shook him by grabbing his arms. "Pull yourself together! Get out of here!  
See if you can do something outside. These people might be needing you! Do  
you understand?"  
He nodded after a short pause, and went through the door. He heard the  
crewman report about some hull-breach that would be automatically sealed.  
Van tried to answer, but before she could finish her sentence, another  
explosion erupted on the bridge. He ducked, but the closing door behind him  
was pushed out by the pressure-wave and hurled against him. As the hard  
metal door hit his head, he finally lost his consciousness.  
  
*****  
  
---Begin recording---  
  
----Recording...----  
  
"I am High Rank Scientist Fullor Bren, part of the SST team aboard the  
"Garolf". According to ship's computer, which I don't trust anymore, four  
days have passed since our ship was struck by some space-anomaly. Apart from  
Ina Tan, who is wounded, and Goba Rel, the High Rank Engineer, I am the only  
survivor. Rel has found out that the reactor is stable enough to provide us  
with energy for the life-support, but that's pretty much it. We're using the  
bio-drives to propel the ship, but Asman knows where we're heading. The  
navigation-computer is destroyed, so we tried to take an estimated course  
back home by looking at the stars. Looking at the stars! We might miss our  
whole sector by a few thousand light-years this way! He's also trying to get  
the comm back on-line, but there is little hope. Even more so as his wounds  
are pretty severe. If I'm not completely wrong, he won't be able to work  
anymore tomorrow. Then we can only pray someone finds us or the comm is  
alright again, or he will die in my hands.  
Lieutenant Nima Van is also dead. I think I already said that... I... *sigh*  
I think she was dead immediately when the explosion tore the bridge apart.  
Without her, I would have been in there, too. I would be dead now as well.  
Not that it would make much of a difference; realistically seen, our chances  
to get rescued are close to nil. We will be, save for a miracle, the first  
SST team to die in the name of the search for Asman...  
Ina is sleeping much. I think I was able to stop the bleeding, and no inner  
organs seem to be penetrated. She will be fine in a few days. To what avail  
is questionable, but at least she won't die without me having done something  
for her. Water supplies are enough for three weeks and six days. Some more,  
should Rel die.  
If this tape is ever found, you, who are listening to this, will be waiting  
for details on the crash, instead of stories about people who will already  
be dead. Well, the sad truth is, I can't give you any. We're drifting  
through space with only minimal rudder control, and the ship is broken.  
That's all I can say. May Asman be with us if we don't manage to repair the  
communication systems. Rel's the only technician here; without him, we are  
doomed.  
I see the intact storage-room on the hard-drive is becoming full, so I'll  
have to end my report here. I would feel tempted to finish with a good,  
theatrical last sentence, but I can't think of one, so I'll let it be. May  
our deaths, should we die, be swift and painless. And tell them at home  
that"  
  
----Hard-drive full----  
---Recording ended---  
--Record stored, saved and sealed--  
  
*****  
  
Vel'te's draconic form slid gracefully through the thin atmosphere along the  
outer edge of Dra'Keshi space. As with all the other patrol routes, his too  
had been extended out to the very edge of the Q-zone. This far out from the  
homeworld systems, there was only the silence of deep space surrounding him  
and his own thoughts for company.  
It was a tribute to his rising rank that he had been given this route, as  
only the most powerful Dra'Keshi were given the outer zones. A tingle upon  
his senses and taste of metal in his mouth woke Vel'te from his musings of  
which turn his life would take next.  
Turning from his course to investigate, the large male dragon focused his  
eyes upon the vessel before him. His nostrils caught the scent of smoke  
from the ship and a mental scan revealed only 3 active minds within. Two of  
the minds he felt were livid with pain, while the third demonstrated a state  
of severe desperation and shock.  
Contacting Zylen and quickly informing the king of the situation, Vel'te  
received orders to protect and 'assist' the vessel to the safety of  
Heartstone where the situation might be investigated. Casting a translation  
spell, Vel'te sent a mental statement of his intentions to the desperate  
mind and hoped that it would understand his intentions.  
  
Fullor was only half-awake and a metallic taste had filled his mouth as it  
had slowly dried out. Ina had recovered somewhat, or better, her condition  
wasn't worsening at least. Rel had been unconscious for days, and Fullor had  
no doubt he'd die soon. Just like the rest of them, only sooner. Suddenly  
his mind was flooded with uninterpretable feelings and information from  
regions of his body that didn't even exist. He jerked up, only to clasp his  
head with both hands and crumble on the ground a moment later. He tried to  
scream, but couldn't remember how to do it.  
  
As he drew near to the craft, Vel'te weaved a force globe around it to  
protect against any further damage. Catching the solid shielded bundle in  
his fore claws like a beach ball, Vel'te turned toward Valik Prime making full  
speed in his flight back.  
Advising Zylen of the capture and estimated arrival time, Vel'te added that  
a healer should be present at the designated arrival site. The chosen  
location being a sheltered cleft within one of the higher peaks known as  
Fin's Roost.  
  
Lying on the floor and panting heavily, Fullor realized the ship was moved.  
Not like it had during the past weeks, but with more force, and more stable.  
He wondered briefly whether that was another... what was the word... boat?  
Then his mind faded into unconsciousness.  
  
The trip back from the edge being nearly a day and a half at max flight  
speed, Vel'te could feel two of the minds loosing strength rapidly and  
pushed himself to the limit of his endurance for the return flight.  
When he finally arrived back within the thicker atmosphere of Heartstone,  
Vel'te could barely force his wings to continue beating long enough to  
gently set the craft down and land in elven form beside it. Releasing the  
force shield, the craft settled softly into the niche while Vel'te collapsed  
exhausted onto the stone ledge where he stood.  
One of the two healers in elven form who stood nearby moved to aid him while  
the other walked toward the craft and sent a request that they allow her  
entry and that she meant them no harm.  
  
Se'lena studied the ship carefully and located what appeared to serve as an  
entry/exit. Banging upon the metal hatch, the female Dra'Keshi healer  
waited for a time with no response. Feeling the minds within growing  
gradually weaker, she decided that finesse would have to take a sideline for  
the moment and grasping either side of the metal hatchway with her delicate  
hands Se'lena tore the door off and set it against the side of the vessel.  
Stepping inside the alien craft, she followed the mental trace to where she  
felt the survivors were located. The scene was rather unsettling, however  
nothing that the trained healer had not seen before. Stepping over the  
corpses and gore of those who had not survived, while slipping around the  
wreckage filling the corridor.  
Arriving outside what appeared to serve as an eating-place within the ship,  
Se'lena found the three survivors. One of the males was on his feet looking  
over his companions when she arrived. Casting a quick translation spell as  
she entered with empty hands extended before her.  
"I am Se'lena. I have come to help and mean you no harm."  
The upright male did not seem alarmed at her appearance, so the female Drak  
moved into the room and knelt beside the female. She was unconscious and  
wounded, however not beyond help. Weaving healing magic into a glowing blue  
aura, which surrounded Ina for a short time without disturbing her sleep,  
Se'lena turned her attention to the injured male. He was lying within some  
sort of bed which emanated soothing energy, apparently to help sustain his  
life in some way. The man's injuries were much more serious and while she  
could stop the slipping of his life she could not reverse it. Healing what  
she was able, Se'lena created a stasis globe around him that would  
effectively seal him in his current state until such time as he could be  
released and tended to more fully.  
Looking over the conscious male, Se'lena found that his few abrasions  
required no additional healing that the natural process could not do as  
easily. Gesturing toward the female, Se'lena effortlessly lifted the man  
sealed within the emerald colored force globe and began walking toward the  
exit of the vessel.  
"I trust you can manage to carry her outside?" She asked over her shoulder  
while navigating around the debris of the corridor just outside the  
mess room.  
Hearing the man shuffling behind her as he carried the unconscious female,  
Se'lena worked her way back out of the devastated craft and upon arriving  
outside gently set the stasis globe down. The gesture being quite  
unnecessary as within the globe she could have tossed him off the side of  
the cliff to fall 3 miles to the bottom and he would not have been harmed in  
the least.  
Turning around she helped the struggling male by taking the prone female  
from him and lying her gently beside the other man. Se'lena noted that  
Vel'te was recovered for the most part and indicated that the other healer  
should carry the globed male back to the capital. Vel'te being above her in  
rank took his own initiative and gathered up the unconscious female.  
As the two Draks transformed into dragon form and carried the survivors  
away, Se'lena turned and carefully studied the remaining man's reaction...

*****

Fullor stared at the dragons without much emotion. His mind had just  
capitulated. After the stress and pressure that had tortured him for the  
last few weeks, the rescuing action had been too much. After the... incident  
with his brain the people who had been moving the ship had not contacted  
them. They had been alone again. Then the sudden landing, and that female.  
First he had thought her to be Andorian, as that seemed logical; the sleek,  
gentle forms and the proximity to their space all pointed towards that  
conclusion. Then he had witnessed the magical healing of Ina and even Rel,  
and his theory had crumbled. And finally this: dragons within Elves.  
He hadn't spoken a word since the Andorian... the Elf, had come aboard, and  
he didn't feel like talking now either. He just looked at the Elven woman in  
front of him with watering eyes, as the sunlight touched them for the first  
time in many weeks.  
"Thank you," he whispered.  
  
Se'lena smiled brightly in response to his words and gestured toward the  
distant peak toward which the diminishing forms of her two companions were  
heading.  
"If you will allow it, I can carry you to our capital so that you may remain  
near to your friends and we can better see to your needs within the comfort  
of Valik's Hold. I fear there is little we can do for your flying craft,  
however we shall do everything possible to help you find a way back to  
whence you came...if that is indeed your desire..."  
  
*****  
  
The mountains here looked very different to those at home, Fullor mused as  
he was drawn towards that "Heartstone". But he couldn't pay much attention,  
as he was tired and worn out. The thing he longed for most was a bed. The  
other two dragons, or Elves, or whatever they were, had already landed  
inside the mountain and were now carrying his two companions through the  
hallways of the capital.  
As Fullor was placed on the floor and Se'lena transformed to her Elven  
incarnation again, he finally asked: "Who, by Asman, are you?"  
  
The woman smiled and replied: "We're the Dra'Keshi. But don't ask now, I'm  
sure somebody will answer all your questions later. But now we will show you  
your accommodations and let you rest." Pointing to the labyrinth of the  
Heartstone, she added, "Shall we?"  
  
*****  
  
Arriving at what appeared to be the center of the city, judging by the  
amount of people traversing here and the outlook of the central column,  
which really was more a tower than that, the groups changed the direction it  
was heading to and approached a number of rooms in one of the sidewalls that  
were all separated from the main cavern by curtains. Although Fullor had  
expected a crude interior, it was simply beautiful instead. Finely crafted  
furniture and pieces of art gave the rooms a very comfortable feeling.  
One of the Elves returned from one of the bedrooms, where he had laid down  
Rel. Meeting his quizzical look, the alien said: "He's in stasis, you don't  
have to care for him here. He's as safe as possible." Ina was carried into  
the bedroom next to Rel's, and now Fullor was alone save for the three  
Elves. The male dismissed the two females and mustered the Maran in front of  
him. Obviously he wanted to ask something, but finally decided against it  
and turned around as well. "Rest here for a while; I will go to see the king  
in person with regards to the situation. I would really like you to relax a  
bit until then; maybe you can wake up your friend later. Just don't leave  
these chambers for the time being, please."  
  
"Am I a prisoner?"  
  
"No, but I'd rather not have to look for you in the whole of the Heartstone  
later," the Elf replied smiling. Fullor nodded and watched the other man go  
away. He closed the curtain to the large cavern outside and yawned. Maybe  
going to sleep wasn't such a bad idea after all...  
  
*****  
  
Vel'te stepped off the disc when it came to a stop in the reception area  
where Zylen was sitting with Onshir, Ash, and the Andorian ambassador.  
Nodding politely and apologetically to the sage, Vel'te whispered a few  
words to the king who rose and followed him to the far side of the room.  
  
"The craft has been left at Fin's Roost, though I fear it appears far to  
damaged to be of use to the three who survived. One of the three is in  
stasis as his injuries were too grievous to be treated. The female should  
recover fully and the male seemed relatively unhurt save for being in shock.  
They are resting now in bordering guest suites on the east face." Vel'te  
reported and awaited the king's response.  
  
"You have done well in this and shown honor with your actions...such will  
not be forgotten. I wish to speak with them once they are rested and have  
had time to come to terms with what happened to them. It is my hope that we  
can find some way of assisting them in whichever way best suits their  
wishes. Please have someone see to their needs and invite them to meet with  
me here when they feel up to it." Zylen responded with a warm pat upon the  
Drak's arm before returning to his seat with the others.  
  
Departing the central pillar, Vel'te made the appropriate arrangements and  
headed off to his own rooms for some much needed rest of his own.

*****

Se'lena activated the chime spell over the entry into the suites being  
occupied by the survivors. Stepping into the section of partitioned off  
cavernous rooms, the Dra'Keshi healer extended her mental senses and found  
the male's mind in a calm state of slumber which was restorative and  
beneficial considering the agitated state of shock it had been in when she  
had first met him. Leaving Fullor undisturbed, Se'lena checked upon her  
other patient. The female seemed much more in tune with magical energies  
and she had hopes that this female might be able to give more insight into  
what had happened to the three of them and the craft they had been found in.  
Taking a seat within the outer common chamber, Se'lena waited with hopes of  
speaking with them both when they had rested and were better able to  
communicate their situation.  
  
When Fullor woke up, he felt much better. Rubbing his eyes, he noticed fresh  
clothes had been placed on a chair. They looked slightly strange to him, but  
they were clean and felt good. He dressed and went out to wake up Ina, too.  
She seemed to be much better. Then he went outside to find something to eat.  
Instead, he discovered one of the Dra'Keshi women that had brought them  
here. "Hello!" he said tentatively.  
  
"Hello," replied the woman. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine, thanks."  
  
"And the woman? Is she coming?"  
  
"She's also fine... and I think she'll join us soon, yes."  
  
"That's good. I'm sure you must have a lot of questions, but they will be  
answered later by people who are more able to do that than I am. Would you  
answer me some questions first?"  
  
Fullor shrugged and took a seat close to her. "Why not?"  
  
The Elven woman smiled. "Who are you?"  
  
"I am High Rank Scientist Fullor Bren, and the woman is High Rank Scientist  
Ina Tan. The one you put in stasis is High Rank Engineer Goba Rel. We are  
from the Maran Community."  
  
The Elf nodded. "And where is that... Community?"  
  
"Its in sector C."  
  
The eyes of the woman showed confusion at that statement. "Sector C?" she  
repeated.  
"I am not familiar with such a designation. It must be quite a distance  
from here for our race to have no record of such a place. Your race must be  
terribly far-traveled!"  
  
"No, not really," Fullor replied. "We are..." he grimaced as he thought of  
the ship and its crew, "were part of an SST team. SST stands for Standard  
Search Template. We're scientists on the search for the great prophet,  
Asman. Originally we were on our way to the Protectorate of Avalon, which  
looked quite promising, when our ship hit the anomaly."  
  
"I am known among my people as Se'lena. The one who discovered your wounded  
craft and carried it here is known as Vel'te. When you and your companion  
feel up to it our King, Zylen'Valik, wishes to speak with you both regarding  
your present situation."  
  
"I think as soon as Ina is awake, we can go to see him."  
  
"What more can you tell me of this anomaly? Do you feel that it may pose a  
threat to our systems?" Se'lena displayed concern as she spoke with the  
scientist.  
  
Fullor folded his arms in front of his chest and chewed on his cheek. "I  
would like to say something more concrete, but I really wouldn't know. The  
situation was too chaotic. I simply don't know. I am sorry."  
  
Se'lena nodded and answered: "I shall leave most of the questions we have  
for Zylen himself to ask. I  
will however ask if there is anything else we can provide to make your stay  
here more comfortable? Surely you must be in need of food?" Se'lena rose  
without waiting for an answer to this last question and waited to show the  
two guests to a dining chamber where a meal, hopefully suitable to their  
needs, was prepared and waiting.  
  
*****  
  
While leading Fullor and Ina the short distance down a corridor to the  
dining chamber, Se'lena contacted Zylen. A short time after they were all  
seated around the table that was set with a wide variety of dishes, Zylen  
arrived and joined them, taking a seat opposite the two guests.  
Responding to their casual questions, the Dra'Keshi king described and  
explained with as much detail as possible the area of space where his  
guest's journey had come to a rather unexpected turn. Not wishing to tax  
their minds too greatly, Zylen presented a brief summary of the relevant  
information regarding himself and his people.  
Turning the discussion back toward the current situation, Zylen expressed  
his apologies that they could not assist in healing the craft in which the  
travelers had arrived.  
  
"What, if any, plans have you made with regards to continuing your journey?  
You are of course welcome to remain among us for as long as you wish. If  
however your desire is to move onward we shall do anything in our power to  
aid you. I am of course interested in hearing anything you are willing to  
tell me regarding your people and where in space you come from..."  
  
Fullor and Ina exchanged a short look, before Ina started talking. "I think  
that falls into my competence. I am the specialist for comparative cultural  
comprehension - an awfully long title for a sociologist working in the SST  
team." She threw the king a winning smile. For some reason, she had never  
been afraid since she'd woke up on this world. It almost seemed as if the  
Elves radiated a soothing aura.  
  
"The Community consists of our homeworld, United Maranar, an autonomous  
Terchan colony on a moon called Sanoan, and two small enclaves, all situated  
in one system. We have only recently been introduced into the greater  
galaxy, and are now beginning the search for Asman."  
  
At this point Fullor took over again. "Asman, or the great prophet, as we  
call him, is the individual upon whose teachings our whole society is based.  
He is the beginning and the end of our development as a civilized race; once  
we find him, he will complete his task to lead us to a higher plane of  
existence by freeing us from our physical needs and bodies, so that we may  
further on exist as the perfect life form."  
  
"And you look for him... here?" asked the king somewhat doubtfully. "Well,  
it is not my will to judge you. But I suppose you'd like to go home. I could  
send a message with one of my people to the space fortress of the Omnet  
people if you think they might be able to contact your world?"  
  
As if in afterthought, Zylen added. "If we are successful in finding a  
method of contacting your people, will there be a way to transport your  
wounded ship as well?"  
  
Fullor shook his head. "We'd be more than grateful if you could send a  
message to our people. But I doubt they will arrive sooner than two months  
or so. And, if you don't object to it, we will leave the damaged ship here  
as well. It's just a bunch of metal compounds, nothing we couldn't replace."  
  
Having covered the majority of his agenda, Zylen rose and announced that he  
was needed elsewhere. Reiterating that they were both welcome to come meet  
with him anytime should they wish to speak further, the Dra'Keshi bid them  
both a formal farewell and departed from the dining chamber.

*****

After the king had left with the message for the SST authorities back in the Community and the permission to dispose the wreckage of the "Garolf", Fullor went to get a cup of the hot drink that seemed to be a Dra'Keshi version of tea - its taste was intense and aromatic, and it helped to stay awake somewhat. Returning into the "living room", as they jokingly called the central chamber of their quarters, since it was the only one with a sofa, he found Ina sitting in one of the recliners and reading in an old and dusty foliant.

"What are you reading there?" he asked.

Ina turned down the foliant and threw Fullor a look of sheer amazement. "It is a collection of old Dra'Keshi myths. Their culture seems to be very rich in this kind of tales - and they all reflect their strong, even war-like culture."

Fullor couldn't help but smile, which was answered by an angry look from her. "What? Why are you smiling? You know I don't like it when you make fun of me!"

"I'm not making fun of you," he defended himself, "but even when you're in private company you talk like a true SST scientist."

"Well, I have always taken great pride in my job. Something you never seemed to do; isn't it so?"

Fullor sighed and let himself fall back into the sofa. "That's not true. At least not completely. You know, I always wanted to see the galaxy, even when I'd been a child. The SST was my only chance to do that; we both know our merchant fleet is more than pathetic. But you're right in one aspect: I don't believe the credo of the SST, which states that other cultures aren't interesting per se, but only in their potential to harness a clue to Asman's position. I think other cultures are worth as much as our own. If anything, my work in the SST has strengthened that view."

Ina nodded and returned to her myths.

*****

The following days had flown by. Fullor and Ina had been shown around by their "liaisons" Vel'te and Se'lena, and especially Ina seemed to suck in everything that concerned the Dra'Keshi culture. When Vel'te had some spare time, he practiced with her the art of communicating through thoughts. Ever since Ina had been told that was the Dra'Keshi primary form of communication, she'd connected it with the "feelings" she had in the presence of the Elves. She suspected it had something to do with her magical abilities, and so she tried to master the new method of talking.

Fullor was more fond of seeing as much of the Empire as possible before the Maran ship would arrive. Although the flight took it more than two months, he was sure he would regret it if he didn't discover as much as possible until then. When he wasn't out exploring the Dra'Keshi homelands, he read to kill the time. After he was through most of the important stage plays, which impressed him rather lightly, he turned to Ina's foliant. She had ceased reading it when she had begun her training and focused more on contemporary literature.

Fullor, however, found the old myths most interesting. It was indeed a fascinating mental world, but he found many parts that equaled those found in other cultures. Maybe that was the reason he nearly choked on a mouthful of Elven stew when he found one myth that resembled only one distinct tale.

*****

"You should have kept reading this!" Fullor said, weaving the foliant through the air in front of Ina's face.

"Please, I just came home, spare me with your outbreaks!"

"Oh no, listen to this:" he started while Ina went, not caring at all, through the living room to put down her belongings.

"And then he appeared in a burst of light and flames, coming down from the sky. The ones who saw him were afraid at first, but he presented himself not as a threat, but as the announcer of a new age, one that would bring them to a new stage of life, that would make them the perfect life form. And he began to preach his words..." Ina had just put down a small backpack and turned around now. She looked tired when she asked: "Fullor, please, what are you up to?"

"What would you say was this?"

"The tale of the arrival of Asman. Very prosaic, perhaps Book Cudun. Why are you..."

"Wrong!" shouted Fullor triumphantly. He held the open foliant under her nose. "It is the myth of He'mon, the eremite. A Dra'Keshi myth many, many centuries old."

Ina's eyes widened when she understood. "You mean?"

"Yes, I think Asman was here, in the form of He'mon!"


	2. Seekers 2

Written in cooperation with Anatol Rathbauer.

*****

Vel'te, Se'lena and their Maran guests, Fullor and Ina were all sitting in  
the living room, the two Dra'Keshi hunching over an old, decaying book.  
Vel'te flipped the old pages somewhat disbelieving, before he asked: "And  
you really think this He'mon is your Asman?"  
  
Ina answered him. "It might very well be the case. There are discrepancies,  
but these are to be expected when comparing century-old texts. But for all  
we know, this is the closest match an SST team has found - ever!"  
  
Se'lena raised a curious eyebrow when she spoke. "Well, that's fine, but  
what do you expect us to do? The myth... the "text", as you refer to it,  
doesn't mention where he went after being rejected by our kind. I fear your  
search might be ended before it has even begun."  
  
Now Fullor turned in, pointing with a finger at a passage of the text. "No,  
this isn't entirely true. The text clearly states He'mon retreated to a  
remote part of the Heartstone, deep beyond all the caverns of the city."  
  
"I wouldn't exactly call this a clear position. The caverns under the  
Heartstone are vast, and even if he was there, we wouldn't know where."  
  
Fullor's eyes were glowing with excitement. "Indeed. And that's why we're  
going on an expedition into the caverns to find any traces of He'mon!"  
  
"We can't do that!" exclaimed Se'lena, "the caverns are old and dangerous.  
Nobody has been there for ages, they are practically unknown territory. As  
your liaisons we are responsible for your health and security, and can't  
allow this."  
  
"But," Fullor countered, "As your liaisons you are also liable to help us in  
whichever way you can, by the order of your king."  
  
Se'lena exchanged a look with Ina. She telepathically issued an emotion to  
her, accompanied by the word "please". The Dra'Keshi knew that Ina, who was  
a "magical", as the Maran called her kind, would be able to understand due  
to her training with Se'lena. But the Maran woman only shrugged. Se'lena  
threw her arms resignedly into the air.  
  
"Alright," she stated, "we might as well start with the preparations." A  
burst of cheering came from the Maran. Se'lena sighed, but Vel'te only  
smiled. Inwardly he greeted the chance for an adventure. Of course he'd  
never embarrass Se'lena by admitting that openly.  
  
*****  
  
Both Dra'Keshi set off to their homes to gather equipment, after the group  
had agreed to meet beside the Royal Pillar in an hour. Vel'te reverently  
took down the long and short blades hanging over his mantle place and slid  
them into their appropriate sheaths which he had attached to his belt a  
moment after arriving in his dwelling. Knowing that they would most likely  
be unable to take dragon form within any but the largest caverns, the  
Dra'Keshi warrior geared himself for humanoid combat. The blades he had  
forged himself and were the pride of his life thus far. Each was made of  
Drynor, a metal which was a rare mix of admantium and diamond. The blades  
were both heavily enchanted and would never chip or break due to the  
material from which he had forged them. Vel'te knew that Se'lena was no  
warrior but would be a welcome support with her vastly superior magical  
talents. Unsure as to what talents the Maran might have to add in support,  
the Drak warrior prepared for the possibility that he would be the sole  
hand-to-hand combatant on this journey.  
After a half hour of packing and repacking to get a weight that would not  
encumber him in battle, Vel'te departed his quarters and was first to arrive  
beside the huge pillar. The chief difficulty they would likely face would  
be food. Not so much a problem for the Maran, however Vel'te hoped that  
Se'lena might have a plan considering the rather large amount of sustenance  
the two Dra'Keshi would require.  
  
Se'lena had indeed considered the food situation and having stopped to  
discuss the planned course with Zylen, received 4 magical rings from him  
which would negate that problem for the length of time they would be away.  
Zylen's only condition on approving the endeavor was that one of them  
contact him periodically with an update on their status.  
After meeting with the king, Se'lena teleported into her secluded and  
entry less dwelling to pack for herself. One section of the pack she would  
wear was designed to protectively house the wide array of charged wands she  
slipped into the 24 reinforced, tube-like slots that connected all around  
the interior of the pack. She had created most of the wands herself, while  
a few were gifts from friends, one was even a gift from King Zylen himself.  
Once she was packed to her own satisfaction, Se'lena teleported to the  
familiar location near the pillar. Arriving only a few minutes after Vel'te  
had, the two Dra'Keshi waited for the arrival of their Maran companions.  
  
Both Fullor and Ina had chosen to wear the Elven clothes they had been using  
for the past couple of days instead of their Maran ones, although they had  
been repaired, as the Dra'Keshi trousers and blouses seemed more fitting for  
an expedition to unknown places than the traditional, long robes of the  
Maran. Their backpacks were crammed full with things they thought could come  
in handy, and especially Fullor looked like he could outclass a small army  
in terms of equipment. Most intriguing, apart from the rope he had wrapped  
around his upper body from his right shoulder to the left side of his hip,  
the machete that was visible through his clothing and the Dra'Keshi hat he  
wore, was the fireweapon dangling from his belt.  
  
The Dra'Keshi greeted them and Se'lena unpacked some of her wands, offering  
them to the Maran.  
  
"I am not sure whether you have weapons of your own, but in case you don't I  
thought I thought it would be wise to teach you how to use these," she  
commented, stretching out a wand to each of them. Ina took one and looked at  
it admiringly, but Fullor waved his hand defensively.  
  
"I rather rely on my Kor & Valan's," he announced, patting the weapon at his  
side. Vel'te's eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the Maran weapon. He  
couldn't make much of it, as he had never seen such an object before, and  
finally asked resignantly: "What is that?"  
  
The Maran drew the pistol and showed it to the Elf. "It's a revolver from  
Kor & Valan's, thus the name. Usually civilians are not allowed to carry  
weapons, but these were supplied on our ship in case of an emergency. The  
SST department isn't allowed our more modern weaponry, so it sticks with  
them. Since I'm not magical like Ina, I will abstain from this little...  
experiment of using wands instead."  
  
"A revolver?" echoed Vel'te a bit helplessly.  
  
Fullor sighed and decided to simply show him. He singled out a wooden plate  
displayed in front of a small shop and pointed at it. "I'm going to destroy  
it - without magic. Just simple physics!" Fullor raised the pistol, took aim  
and fired. The bullet was hurled out of the short barrel with a sharp  
bang. That was the last thing that went right.  
  
A few centimeters before hitting the plate the bullet changed its direction  
and headed off towards the high end of one of the outer walls of the giant  
chamber before it apparently lost its speed and came down again, describing  
a soft bow in its flight. As it touched the ground it unexpectedly gathered  
new momentum and rocketed back, now aiming directly at Fullor. It approached  
his head at a few times the speed of sound, and Fullor closed his eyes  
reflexively in anticipation of imminent death. The bullet, however, reduced  
its speed again until it came to a complete halt approximately a hand's span  
away from his temple, still rotating in the air. Finally it turned around,  
hitting a satin curtain, ricocheting off it and hitting the pallette near  
the initial target, destroying a good dozen of other wooden plates.  
  
All four members of the little group stared wide-eyed at the disaster.  
Nervously scratching his neck, Fullor stuttered: "I guess this Q-Dex has  
a... erm... somewhat different character than ours in respect to... natural  
laws..."  
  
Vel'te was polite enough not to comment on the faux pas and went off to  
apologize regarding the broken dishes. Meanwhile Fullor put the revolver  
back into the pocket of his belt and went over to Ina and Se'lena in order  
to take one or two of the wands after all.

*****

Handing a wand to each, Ina and Fullor, Se'lena demonstrated the proper way  
to hold the magical item and how to speak the command words while depressing  
a gem embedded within the haft. Once the Dra'Keshi woman was certain that  
the Maran were familiar enough with the wands that they would be able to use  
them at least moderately well, she explained how the runes engraved into the  
side of each detailed what type of wand each is. Pointing out the runes of  
fire and force on Fullor's which indicated it would emit a flaming sphere  
that would travel until it impacted upon something and explode with powerful  
force. Upon Ina's wand were the runes of lightning and a chain, which when  
activated would send a powerful bolt of energy toward the directed target  
and then arc into the next nearest being, and then the next nearest still.  
  
Pulling two more wands from her pack, Se'lena provided Ina with a wand of  
Icy Blast as a backup for the Arc Lightning wand she already had. For  
Fullor she gave him an Energy Arrow wand to go with the Flame Blast wand he  
has. Watching how the Maran had picked up on the technique of wand usage,  
Se'lena was particularly impressed with how quickly Ina had understood.  
Making a mental note to hopefully find time to look closer into the Maran  
female's magical aptitude. Turning with a nod to Vel'te when he returned to  
them, Se'lena indicated that they were as ready as they were going to be for  
the trek into the UnderCaverns.  
  
Sending a quick mental notice to Zylen that they were heading out, Vel'te  
led the group along the Northern Avenue until they reached a crossing with a  
particularly ancient looking statue of a powerful looking Dra'Keshi in elven  
form. Turning the point of the statue's left ear, a spiral stair appeared  
within a stone circle behind the crossing's centerpiece.  
  
Leading the way down into the darkening depths the stairway descended into,  
Vel'te was thankful when Se'lena summoned a floating globe of light, which  
took position just over and behind his head and followed him unerringly.  
  
For the most part the walls around the circling stair were solid, though an  
occasional fissure or chasm was passed during the group's downward descent.  
After roughly two hours walk, they reached the bottom of the stone stair  
where only a single man-sized cavern wandered off southward at a slightly  
downward slope.  
  
Se'lena had taken up the rear, while the two Maran had walked in between.  
Upon arriving at the base of the steps, she cautioned that Lizords were  
likely to be fairly numerous and aggressive down in the UnderCaverns.  
Further mentioning that the wands of Arc Lightning and Energy Arrow will be  
most effective against them, Se'lena pulled a wand of her own from the pack  
and nodded toward Vel in readiness.  
  
*****  
  
As they were walking through the uppermost level of the UnderCaverns, Fullor  
noted that the walls appeared to be hewn more and more hastily, as if the  
ancient Dra'Keshi who had done this work had been in a hurry to complete it.  
Whereas the walls of the narrow cavern had been covered by runes and symbols  
near the stairs, now they were rough and primitive, with sharp edges  
standing out everywhere. Fullor wondered whether the lizords were the cause  
for this, but didn't ask.  
  
Arriving at the exit of the cavern they discovered a whole new world.  
Standing in awe at the edge of a small cliff - or a very large stair, they  
couldn't tell - they gazed at the endless natural caverns stretching out in  
front of them. No longer was there a single way to follow, or even a  
labyrinth of tunnels, but merely an almost crystalline structure of stone  
pathways, tunnels, caverns and slopes.  
  
Vel'te turned around and looked at the Maran.  
  
"We have to make a decision at this point," he said. "There are three ways  
down. One is practically impassable for reasons... you don't need to know.  
One is relatively safe, but it will take us many days to reach the next  
level. The final one is fast, we could reach our first destination in one  
day or two, but it is a rather dangerous way. I think it's your choice," the  
Dra'Keshi added.  
  
Fullor thought it over, but Ina beat him to answering. "We only have  
supplies and food for two weeks, isn't it so? That means we have to turn  
around after one week, and if we need even only five days to reach the next  
level, we've practically failed before we started. So I guess this was more  
or less a rhetorical question?"  
  
Vel'te smiled faintly. "You are indeed very smart, Ina. Fullor?"  
  
The male Maran nodded confidently. "Hey," he exclaimed, "a bit of adventure  
has hurt nobody, has it? So where's that fast lane?"  
  
*****  
  
The route they had chosen was pretty exhausting, to say the least. Vel'te  
and Fullor were still going at the front, followed by Ina and Se'lena. The  
Elven constitution of the Dra'Keshi and the Maran's natural adaptation to  
rough, mountainous terrain helped them to press forward, but even Vel'te  
began to feel tired. Again and again the group had to unpack their ropes and  
hooks to climb over a collapsed section of the ceiling or balance carefully  
through fields of deadly stalagmites and stalactites. Ina had already  
received a bad scratch when she had tripped as they had crossed a steep  
slope full of rubble, but she "took it with dignity", as she said. A few  
times they had heard suspicious noises, but no lizords had shown up so far.  
Vel'te explained that this upper level of the UnderCaverns was like a  
natural barrier to keep them out of the city above: the paths were either so  
dangerous or so long that practically no lizords made it to the stairs.  
  
Over six hours had passed since the adventurers had entered the  
UnderCaverns, and Vel'te suggested a rest. At first Fullor tried to object,  
but the Dra'Keshi pointed out that as long as he was the leader of the group  
and carried the responsibility, he would decide the rests. Finally Fullor  
gave in and sat down on a stone like his colleague and the female Dra'Keshi.  
He had to admit it was good to rest a bit. Vel'te left to check the way  
ahead of them.  
  
When he returned a few minutes later, the expression on his face was grave.  
Fullor jumped to his feet when he saw him and asked: "What is it? You look  
concerned."  
  
The Dra'Keshi pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "The way down has  
broken in. Apart from a small ledge there's nothing left. We have got to  
turn around and take the other way."  
  
"What?" shouted Fullor. "You mean you dragged us through this backyard of  
hell for four hours to have us turn around now?"  
  
Ignoring the Maran's angry voice, Vel'te answered as calm as always: "Yes.  
It is too dangerous."  
  
"Too dangerous?" inquired Fullor, his face somehow lighting up. "That means  
that it *would* be possible to go there, but only *dangerous*, right?"  
  
Now even the Dra'Keshi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly because of the anger  
he felt. "No! Not "only dangerous", but very dangerous. Chances are you - or  
we - wouldn't survive."  
  
"Let me tell you something," began Fullor, "I live while my comrades and my  
friends on the Garolf died, I survived drifting through space and I risk the  
life of another friend on the surface. I did not do all that to turn around  
now, the first time my race found a trace of Asman, because I am afraid of  
climbing over some ledge that is likely to be laughed at by Maran children.  
I will not turn around. If you like, go home, I will find He'mon on my own!"  
  
Angrily he stomped away towards the direction Vel'te had come from. The tall  
Elf sighed, threw Ina and Se'lena an enervated  
look and followed the Maran.  
  
He found him standing on the edge of the virtually vertical slope that led  
downwards. There had been a way down, but now only a foot-wide ledge led  
into the dark abyss below. Hands on hip the Maran evaluated the situation.  
"We will have to go with large distances in between of us in order to not  
put too much strain on the ledge. It looks fragile. I would also like to  
bind us together, but I fear that the rope we have isn't long enough to  
allow the distance we need. I think it's safer to go down on our own. What  
do you think?" he addressed the Dra'Keshi behind him.  
  
"You're the mountaineer," he replied. Smilingly, Fullor turned around and  
tapped his hat. "By Asman, was that a joke from you? I already thought you  
had no humor!"  
  
The Elf smiled back and answered: "I do have humor. But I keep it for  
special occasions. Like now, when I maybe won't have many more chances to  
joke."  
  
Fullor was already on his knees and searched for a halt to get down on the  
ledge, which started approximately two meters below the edge of the slope.  
He found some and slowly pushed himself over. When his feet found the stone  
protruding from the wall, he let go of the edge and carefully walked  
downwards. After a while he signaled Vel'te to follow, and he did the same  
he had done, in typical Elven manner a bit more elegantly than he had, but  
much less secure than the Maran who had grown up in the mountains of  
Maranar. They repeated this process with Ina and finally Se'lena, who had to  
stuff their wands away in order to have both hands free to cling to the wall  
and secure their balance.  
  
Fullor had just managed to get round the third turning of the ledge, which  
were the most difficult spots of their little free-climbing tour, when they  
suddenly heard a noise. The group stopped, and everybody concentrated listening for its source. But the noise didn't repeat itself, and only a few  
small stones rattled down the slope. Fullor turned around to Vel'te, and  
both exchanged a mistrusting look. They knew something was wrong, but they  
did not have the chance to investigate right now. So they continued their  
way.  
  
Making their way step by step, they were only a few meters further down the  
treacherous way. Now Fullor and Vel'te were after the turning in the ledge,  
while Ina and Se'lena still were above. The noise had been already  
forgotten, as they struggled to continue their way on the most narrow  
section of the ledge. Suddenly it was brought back to their attention.  
  
A dirty, dark-green claw swung down from the ledge above Ina and tried to  
catch her. With a scream she evaded the paw, which had a sick-looking color  
on its scales and stepped forward with only a bit too much force. The stone  
below her foot cracked and she fell off, head first down into the gorge. Now  
everything happened very fast.  
  
Se'lena grabbed a wand to cast a protective spell on Ina, but a  
bone-armored tail tip hit her hand and she let it drop. An instant later a  
claw grabbed her throat and she struggled to break the creature's grip. The  
same moment Ina caught the ledge a few meters below and crashed hard  
against the wall. Vel'te leapt forward to hold her, but surprised by the  
impact on the wall, Ina let go of the ledge again and slid further down.  
Jumping into the empty now, Vel'te missed her and sailed over her head down  
into the abyss with waving hands. But Ina had no time to be shocked, as  
suddenly a rope appeared left of her and she grabbed it. Some feet later her  
fall was stopped.  
  
Fullor thought his arm would simply be ripped off when the rope suddenly  
pulled on his right arm. Clutching the wall with his left one, he let out a  
cry of pain and tried not to let go of the rope on which Ina was dangling.  
He briefly realized that Vel'te had to be dead already and looked up at  
Se'lena, who was starting to get an unhealthy color in her face as the  
arm - if it was an arm - of the beast blocked her from getting into position  
to realistically break the grasp. Fullor closed his eyes and cursed himself.  
  
Suddenly he felt a cold breeze and then the weight of Ina, hanging on his  
rope, was taken away from his arm. For an instant he thought she had lost  
her grip on it, but then he saw it. Or better, him. Vel'te, now in draconic  
form, was sweeping upwards through the gorge. It was far too small for him  
and he ripped his wings and bruised his legs, but he was able to fly.  
Holding Ina secure in one hand, he lurched up to observe the beast release  
Se'lena and flee into a deep crevice. Before he could fall back once more,  
this time maybe not able to find enough place to fly again, he transformed  
back into Elven form. Exhausted and wounded, they all took a rest before  
finishing their descend to the next level of the UnderCaverns.  
  
One hour later they had reached more solid ground again, and Se'lena cast a  
healing spell on them before they readied a camp for the "night". None of  
them had talked since the attack, but now Fullor broke the silence.  
  
"Thank you, Vel. Thank you for everything."  
  
The Dra'Keshi was lying on his mat with closed eyes. Ina and Se'lena were  
already sleeping. He raised one hand and said: "I would like you to use my  
full... ah, never mind, it was a pleasure to be of help."  
  
Fullor grinned and lay down himself.

*****

The rest was well needed and served greatly to recharge the individual  
members of the group. The two Dra'Keshi, not needing sleep but rather the  
restorative meditation known as Reverie, remained aware of all that occurred  
around them while they rested.  
Both Vel'te and Se'lena remained aware of a small gathering of Lizords a  
fair distance off, they could tell by the excited chittering of the  
creatures that the Lizords were likewise aware of the humanoids. However  
for some reason the Lizords were either unwilling or unable to approach  
nearer, thus the rest passed without incident and Vel woke the Maran when  
the time was right that they all be moving on once again.  
Following the rather exciting and eventful climb down, the group was quite  
satisfied with the fairly level and clear region that they now moved  
through. After some time the immense cavern narrowed down and ended with  
two smaller cave openings leading off into narrow corridors. Se'lena was  
somewhat surprised to notice that the corridors were not exactly natural in  
formation. While they certainly had not been formed to any level of detail  
that those within Heartstone were, at several points the angles were too  
straight to be natural.  
Having taken the corridor on the left, as either looked as good as the  
other, the path traveled for some distance before opening into a room that  
was quite obviously not of natural formation. The only entry or exit was  
the one they passed through as the group entered and gazed about with no  
small measure of awe.  
The entire room was cut from some crystalline material that seemed to meld  
perfectly with the stone of the corridor just at the point where the exit  
stood. The crystal was too thick to see through with any amount of clarity,  
however it could be seen that an immense cavern even larger than that which  
they had passed through earlier extended away into obscurity beneath this  
crystal room. Filling the entire center of the room a perfectly circular  
table, seemingly formed of the same crystal as the rest of the room, melded  
seamlessly into the floor. A circle of chairs, likewise melded with the  
floor of the crystal were positioned evenly around the table and numbered 16  
in all. Etched into the slightly larger seat at what appeared to be the  
head of the table, the personal seal of Valik remained visible and clear as  
if it had been formed that very day.  
Moving around the table with a rather captivated look, Se'lena darted a  
glance toward Vel and pointed at the surface of the table with obvious  
disbelief.  
  
"This can only be the original War Room of Valik himself. That seal on the  
head chair was only used in his own personal journal and was never allowed  
to be used anywhere else by his own request...or so the legends say..."  
  
With a gasp of excitement, the female Dra'Keshi leapt up onto the table and  
walking slowly around the edge while her lips moved silently in reading the  
inscriptions etched directly into its surface.  
  
"The entire center of this table is a starmap!" Se'lena exclaimed with  
growing excitement at their find. "It is dated before the  
Cataclysm...and..." A look of dismay crossed her features as she turned her  
gaze fully toward Vel'te and the Maran.  
"It is labeled 'Origin Q-zone'. According to the distance marks it was  
roughly 4 times larger than our zone is now. It confirms what was  
discovered regarding our original homeworld system, which is labeled here as  
'The Origin System'. It contains our three homeworlds in shared orbit with  
what we know know as the three spider elf worlds. And has that unknown 7th  
planet also, exactly like the map found above in Heartstone."  
Walking along the edge of the crystal table to stand at the end opposite of  
the head seat, Se'lena leaned over and read silently again before  
continuing.  
"There are two other systems shown here within the Origin Zone. One is  
labeled 'Oryn the Archer' while the other is unnamed. This one must be the  
Andorian's system...Their star is Oryn Prime..."  
  
Hopping down off the table, Se'lena sat upon the edge with a satisfied look  
on her face. "I need to notify Zylen about this so that he can decide how  
to best preserve this site. It shall take only a moment and then we can  
continue on our original objective..."  
Glancing toward the Maran to see their response, the Dra'Keshi mage smiled  
thankfully in return to their simultaneous affirmative nods.  
  
The process of sending a psychic request for communication to Zylen was more  
difficult and time consuming than she original figured, however eventually  
the connection formed. Dismissing the oddity as being a factor of the  
crystalline material or some such disrupting factor within the caverns  
around them, Se'lena quickly explained the findings to Zylen and awaited his  
response.  
During the mental conversation, Se'lena had a growing feeling that something  
was not right, and the king's response that 'the find was insignificant and  
bore no further investigation' confirmed her fears that something was indeed  
terribly wrong. Thanking Zylen for his time and then closing the  
connection, Se'lena's serious and grim expression spoke volumes before she  
explained with words.  
"The king has been corrupted, or replaced by someone or something. That was  
not Zylen I just spoke with...of that I am absolutely certain. I must  
contact the other two clan leaders and see if they are still themselves. If  
they are they must be made aware of this..."  
Vel'te nodded with understanding and agreement before gesturing that he was  
going to backtrack the path to ensure it was still clear should they need to  
move quickly. The Maran were rather confused, but didn't interfere with the  
Elves.  
  
Contacting first Lysia on Dervish, followed by Forsid on Ember, Se'lena  
breathed a sigh of relief when she closed the connection after informing  
them both about the find and the matter regarding Zylen.  
"The other two clan leaders are still themselves. Of that I have no doubts.  
They are speaking together now and shall attend to the matter...Regardless,  
we should likely put some distance between ourselves and here in the case  
that whatever that was in Zylen's place was able to track my communication  
back to here."  
A loud grinding sound from the wall behind her caused the female Dra'Keshi's  
hopes to fall shattered around her as she turned about to see the cause.  
The crystal of the wall opposite from the exit moved and shifted as if alive  
and suddenly lurched forward. Stepping out of the wall, a huge humanoid  
figure made entirely of the crystalline material stood within the far end of  
the room at a height easily over 18 feet tall.  
A somewhat different sound from behind and shout of alarm from Vel, caused  
the three of them to spin about in time to see the male Drak slide into the  
room amid a shower of rock dust as the entire corridor collapsed behind him  
into impassible rubble.  
  
But there was no time to think about the consequences. The crystal humanoid  
moved with an agility, which mocked its appearance and approached Se'lena,  
who was already reaching for one of her wands. Fullor tried to jump between  
them, but the beast didn't even take notice of him and simply ran him over.  
Swinging his crystal hand in a wide blow it struck out for the Dra'Keshi  
woman, who leapt aside to avoid it. The being followed that motion and tried  
to squash her beneath its fist. In the last second Se'lena rolled away from  
under the crystal block and the monster struck only the ground with force.  
The whole room shook because of the mighty blow, but the creature didn't  
stop for a moment.  
  
Meanwhile Fullor had managed to get out one of the wands that had been given  
to him. Not remembering which one it was, he spoke one of the command words  
and pressed the gem...nothing happened. This drew the beast's attention on  
him. The large, shiny head turned around and Fullor thought he could see an  
evil glance in it. Trying to remember the other command word he had been  
given, he slowly retreated backwards. Of course the creature followed him  
across the room. As it reached the center, an audible cracking made by the  
floor interrupted its advance. Looking at the ground to its feet, the  
creature decided to go along the walls rather than right through it. Fullor,  
now in a corner, made a quick decision.  
  
Running right into the middle of the room he attempted to hang onto the  
crystal monster, which was still carefully avoided stepping onto the cracked  
section again, as the millennia-old floor had obviously been overly  
strained by the first hit. But he had underestimated the being's  
intelligence. Lifting both its fists high above its head, it collected all  
its strength and let them come down like an over proportioned hammer. The  
floor finally gave in under the blow and collapsed, dropping several large  
crystalline chunks along with Fullor down into a lightless hole. Vel'te  
jumped to the edge of the hole and caught Fullor's hand just in time to save  
him from falling into the abyss. He only let out a muffled sound of pain,  
but held the Maran firmly. As he tried to pull Fullor back onto the floor of  
the room, he didn't sense the kick of the crystalline warrior that knocked  
him unconscious and sent them both tumbling down into the hole.  
  
Se'lena spoke rapidly the words of a soft-fall spell centered between Vel'te  
and Fullor just as they fell through the hole, hoping it would protect her  
two companions. Naturally, that had kept her from concentrating on the  
monster, and now it was stepping near her in an aggressive stance. Se'lena  
prepared to cast another spell, yet had no time to complete it as the  
creature extended one of its razor taloned claws forward to tear her into  
pieces. The attack halted short as the beast shuddered sideways and fell to  
one knee. With Surprise, Se'lena peered around to see Ina staring amazedly  
at her own wand. The Dra'Keshi smiled and pointed her own wand at the beast.  
She would use the time Ina had bought them. Using the powerful magic of the  
sonic wand, Se'lena shielded her face and urged Ina to hide behind the  
rubble of the collapsed corridor with a mental warning. Sonic waves, in a  
frequency so high that not even the elf could hear it, struck the monster  
and shattered it into a rain of sharp crystal shards. In the agony of death  
it threw its arms up one last time, crushing the ceiling before also the  
arms themselves dissolved into thousands of small crystals. Large stones  
were falling down now in a wave of dust, small rubble and remnants of the  
crystal beast.  
  
When the dust clouds disappeared slowly, the hole in the ground had been  
sealed by tons of stone and crystal. Se'lena and Ina both dusted off their  
clothes and looked through the breach in the ceiling, which let in a breeze  
of more or less fresh air. Ina climbed up to take a look and shouted down to  
her comrade: "Se'lena, there's a way back into the corridor we came from; we  
can crawl through a hole over there! Now just get up Vel and Fullor and we  
can go and take the second corridor back at the crossing."  
  
When there was no reply, she came down again and looked quizzically at  
Se'lena.  
  
"You can do that, can't you?" she asked.  
  
"I just tried...nothing happened..." the Dra'Keshi answered with a grim  
expression on her face. "Something in the crystal itself seems to be  
preventing my teleportation magic from working..."  
  
Ina swallowed bitterly and stared angrily at the hole in the ceiling. "Will  
we be able to find them?" she asked tentatively. Se'lena only walked by her  
and began to climb up to the breach.


End file.
